Getting in the Driver Seat with Google Drive

East Central ISD is a Google Apps for Education district. Students enrolled in ECISD are given access to their own Google Apps account, including tools such as Gmail, Calendar, and Drive. Google Apps tools, along with Edmodo, form the foundation of our learning management system.

As we move into our second year of Google Apps, district users are becoming increasingly comfortable with Gmail and even Google Calendar. On the other hand, many educators and students do not realize the valuable resource at their disposal in the form of Google Drive.

1. Web-based Word Processing - Google Drive allows users to create text documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. Documents can be exported in a variety of formats including Word, Excel, and Powerpoint.
2. Collaboration - Documents created in Google Drive can be "shared" with other users. The owner of the document determines the access of other users, which includes view only access or editing rights. Multiple users can access and edit the same document at the same time. All edits are automatically saved and are viewed in "real time".
3. Digital Locker - Each student and staff member has 30GB of storage available within their Google accounts. Documents that have been created in Google OR that have been converted to Google Drive format do not count toward this 30GB of storage. File formats that can be stored within Google Drive include .doc, .xls, .ppt, .pdf, .jpeg, .png, .mp4, and .mov.
4. Mobile Applications - Google Drive apps are available in both iTunes and the Google Play store, allowing for ease of use on mobile devices.

For more information on how you can more effectively utilize your Google Drive account, contact the ECISD Instructional Technology Department.